Six firms seek govt nod for single brand retail

New Delhi: Six companies including OPPO Mobiles and MTR Foods Pvt Ltd have sought government approval to undertake single-brand retail trading in India entailing foreign direct investment.China's OPPO Electronics Corp has sought the nod from Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to expand operations in India by opening wholesale and single-brand retail stores. MTR Foods wants approval to undertake single-brand retail trading in India.Besides Laurelle India wants approval for 100 per cent foreign direct investment in India in single brand product retail trading connected with perfumery, according to the DIPP.Lenovo too has sought DIPP's nod for wholesale trading of computers and mobile phones in the country. These six applications were filed between May 25 and June30.As per the FDI policy, 100 per cent foreign investment is permitted in single brand retail trading. While up to 49 per cent is permitted through automatic route, beyond that government's nod is required. In respect of proposals involving FDI beyond 51 per cent, sourcing of 30 per cent is mandatory.Recently, the government tweaked the policy and stated that it may relax the sourcing norms for companies undertaking single brand retail trading of products having 'state-of-art' and 'cutting-edge' technology and where local sourcing is notpossible.